Politics

Some U.S. House races that were once considered reliably Republican are becoming more competitive, and three of these districts are in North Carolina. 

Republicans declared victory in the Ohio special election even though thousands of provisional ballots have yet to be counted. What do the results mean for the November elections? Though these tight races may signal a blue wave, there’s also a pink wave with women breaking a record for the number of gubernatorial primary wins.

Four of the six constitutional amendments state Republican legislators want on the fall ballot now face a legal battle. 

Stateline’s annual legislative review analyzes how political trends affect policy questions in legislatures around the country. This year’s findings examine decisions about Medicaid expansion, the impact of the #MeToo movement on policy and behavior, the changing power of unions, gun control legislation in the wake of the Las Vegas and Parkland shootings, and the ongoing fight over sanctuary cities and immigration policy. 

Last week, North Carolina pastor Andrew Brunson was moved from a jail in Turkey to house arrest until his trial continues in October. Brunson has spent 23 years in Turkey raising a family and serving as an evangelical minister. 

House Republicans on Wednesday filed articles of impeachment against Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein. The lawmakers, including Rep. Mark Meadows (R-NC), say Rosenstein has withheld documents from Congress and has mishandled his job overseeing the special counsel investigation. The move demonstrates a widening division within the GOP on the handling of the probe into President Trump.

Lawmakers returned to Raleigh this week for a special session to determine the titles for six proposed constitutional amendments. The amendments will be put to voters this November and include controversial items like a voter ID measure and a push to limit the governor’s appointment powers.

Powerful, wealthy organizations like the National Rifle Association might want to buy elections, but campaign finance laws stop them from doing so. At least, they’re supposed to.

President Donald Trump is in the United Kingdom for a two-day visit with British leaders. The visit turned awkward after the president blasted U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May in the press one day before the two were set to meet. He told a British tabloid that May ignored his advice on Brexit and that her political rival Boris Johnson would make an excellent prime minister.

President Trump is putting coastal Republicans in a tight spot this election cycle with his proposal to open waters off the Atlantic coast to oil and gas exploration.

Lawmakers have retreated to their home districts following a frenetic short session.

Becki Gray, of the John Locke Foundation, and Rob Schofield, with NC Policy Watch, join WUNC Capitol Bureau Chief Jeff Tiberii and discuss the budget, proposed constitutional amendments, as well as what legislators did not address.

Editor's Note: This Week In NC Politics will take a break for the rest of July and will be back in early August.

This year's session at the General Assembly felt, at times, like a blur.

WRAL Capitol Bureau Chief Laura Leslie joins the podcast to discuss the pace of the Legislature, some of the most significant measures, and how policy may influence the already underway election season.

Leslie, who worked at WUNC from 2004 until 2011, also weighs in on the departure of a key legislative staffer and shares what she misses most about public radio.

Editor's Note: The WUNCPolitics Podcast will take a break for the rest of July and will be back in early August.

In the middle of a landmass in the Northern Hemisphere bordered by oceans, people call themselves Americans. According to both their own laws and broader international ones, they are members of a group known as a nation-state – in this case the United States of America.

The Republican-controlled General Assembly wrapped up its short session Friday, passing an adjusted budget in time for the start of the fiscal year, above the objections of Democrats and Governor Roy Cooper’s veto.

Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy announced his retirement this week and sparked panic among many Democrats. During his time on the nation’s highest bench, he cast deciding votes on LGBTQ rights, abortion and the death penalty. President Trump has vowed to replace Kennedy’s seat with a more conservative justice.